MODELING AND SIMULATION OF IEEE 802.11 WLANs: A CASE STUDY OF A NETWORK SIMULATOR

Stochastic discrete event simulation methodology is becoming increasingly popular among network researchers around the world in recent years. This is partly because of the availability of various sophisticated and powerful simulation software packages, but also because of the flexibility in model construction and validation. This paper describes our experience in using the ns-2 network simulator, a discrete event simulation package, as an aid to modeling and simulation of the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networks (WLANs). The paper concludes by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of simulation methodology in general, and the ns-2 in particular.